Being productive and powerful

Dr. Scott McLeod has a great post on his Dangerously Irrelevant blog about productivity and power not only in our students but in our teachers as well.

Personal note: I was extremely productive in June but what happened to July? (I can tell you it was little things that needed to be done that had nothing to do with me moving forward).

He brings up some great points:

1. Do worksheets (over and over) make kids more productive?
2. Does seat work make students empowered?
3. Is productivity and being powerful equal for all students?

So what is meant by productivity? We want more time and money in order to do something we enjoy. The theory of the Hedonic Treadmill is that even as income increases, happiness does not. And happiness does not always increase power either. The Hedonic Treadmill basically states that we get used to things, no matter what they are. Your happiness stays close to a specific baseline.

So how do you increase productivity? You structure your life.

1. Balance - this means a minimum level of recreation
2. Set regular goals focused on things other than happiness

A balanced life is productive. More people chase happiness especially in things that do not increase their happiness.

People who are productive struggle to stay there - they struggled to get there in the first place. IT IS THE PROCESS OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING THAT KEEPS THEM THERE! They read, go to conferences, connect to others, and tackle new concepts regularly. Use the best tools, techniques, and ideas that come your way.

So, what activities keep you back? For me, I think I deserve down time watching TV on the couch. I am no happier for it. I also believe I have to have my fingers in everything but the stress of not keeping up creates unhappiness. That is not productive.
How can we increase our productivity?

Better yet, how can we increase the productivity and power in our students?

Tags: productivity, empowerment, education

Day 1 professional development thoughts

Learning a new technology tool takes just a little time for play and taking one thing at a time (Moodle in two hours is just not enough!)


Note: Michelle Martin of the Bamboo Project Blog has issued a challenge for one-sentence professional development. As I am part of a team training other teachers in our district on the use of Moodle, Wikis, and Blogs, I felt this would be a great time to do a short post.

Tags: onesentencepd, professional development

Popcorn on the fly

Have you seen this? Use your cell phone instead of a microwave?




For all of the talk about teens and texting, is this another reason to text instead of making a call? My husband sent this video which is timely considering the talk of exposure to cell phone signals that I have seen in the news today. Of the recommendations:

• Don't carry your cell phone in your pocket
• Keep the keypad side towards your body
• Don't favor one side when talking on the phone
  
• Keep your calls short (about a minute)
• Children should only use cell phones in an emergency

Should we be really worried about exposure to cell phone signals? Perhaps... we know the honey bees already have a problem with the signals (though for different reasons). I know... we worry too much but after all, it took some time to convince people about the danger of cigarettes...

What I think: I am not abandoning my cell phone. I am not one to be on it constantly and more likely to text these days than call. My phone is to big to carry in a pocket.

What do you think?

Life long learners and life long teachers

Darren Draper at Drape's Takes has written an excellent post about lifelong learners and weaker teachers. He provides a great quote from Michael Pressley:

Let me tell you about one of the most consistent findings in our interviews of teachers over the years. It is always the most effective teachers who have told us that they have much more to learn. They are always the ones seeking the professional development. The weaker teachers are often very confident that they already teach well. So, I think that rather than simply providing professional development, it may be necessary to select teachers who know they need to get better and are open to getting better, actively seeking ways to do so. (p. 6)

What I like about Darren's original post and his eloquent comment is that he is not afraid to say what we need to hear: We may have proved ourselves to be lifelong learners and not just lifelong teachers. We read and blog because we believe this. But, we are an echo chamber discussing the same things. Not being inventive and innovate and thinking and blogging about the students we profess to care about. I think we are all guilty and jump at conversations and beat them to death. When innovators (I would put Darren here) have something to say we blog and discuss to no end.

Now that I am comfortable with what I have learned, what will I do now to continue to learn?

• Break out of the echo chamber and search for information outside of my field.
• Discuss what others are saying only to record for my own benefit.
• Understand that lifelong learners may be there, just not discussing what everyone else is.
  

Are you a lifelong learner just because you blog about what everyone is talking about? Or are you a lifelong learner when you continually take yourself out of your comfort zone?

Tags: darrendraper, teachers, learning

Google's skill for the future

Colette posts what Google is looking for in future employees here at edtech vision.

Google knows that learning is lifelong and is looking for these skills:

… analytical reasoning. Google is a data-driven, analytic company. When an issue arises or a decision needs to be made, we start with data. That means we can talk about what we know, instead of what we think we know.

… communication skills. Marshalling and understanding the available evidence isn’t useful unless you can effectively communicate your conclusions.

… a willingness to experiment. Non-routine problems call for non-routine solutions and there is no formula for success.

… team players. People need to work well together and perform up to the team’s expectations.

… passion and leadership. Be motivated by a sense of importance about what you do.

He goes on to say, “keep on challenging yourself, because learning doesn’t end with graduation.”

I like that last part. I mention that every year to students in my classes and even my Academic students do not believe they will need to. They already have the expectation that they are done when they finish high school or college.

Whether they have a profession that requires them to continue their learning, all students need to become life long learners in order to understand the world around them and make choices for the future.

Fast food culture in our schools...

Through Tim's post here at Assorted Stuff, he quotes and links to Sir Ken Robinson's acceptance speech about our education here in the US (he is an American citizen by the way). I like the quote that Tim includes from the speech:

There are two models of quality control, quality assurance in the catering business. One of them is standardizing and that’s the model that informs the growth of the fast food industry.

So, if you have a favorite fast food outlet, you know which ever one you go to, wherever it happens to be, it will be exactly what you’re expecting and exactly the same as all the other ones.

It’s all horrible but it’s guaranteed.

The other model is like the Michelin Guide or the Zagat guide. What they do is establish a criteria for excellence, very high standards, much higher than those of the fast food people.

But they don’t tell you how to do it, they don’t tell you what to put on the menu, they don’t tell you who to hire, and they don’t tell you what the place should look like.

The way they figure out if you’re any good is they send people who know all about it to see if you’re doing it. And if you’re doing it you’re in the guide and if you’re not, you’re not.

And the result of this is that every one of these restaurants is great, and they’re all different. And they’re different because they use local produce, appeal to local markets, local circumstances and are customized.

I believe this is the only answer for the future. We have to recognize the heart of education improvement is improving the experience of individual learners and treating each school individually and not as a mass.

There isn’t a kid in the country who will get out of bed wondering how to improve the nations reading standards. They will get out of bed to improve their reading. It’s a very personal business.

I am not fond of NCLB and testing. In fact, I believe it is doing great harm. What is required to truly customize is a very different way of thinking. As people continue to be disenchanted with education, more and more customized charter schools may be cropping up to solve the problem. Perhaps that is what is needed to truly bring change.

Creature Creator and Spore

My son has been having a blast playing with Creature Creator. With this game he is able to make neat animals and customize them with a variety of features. Hie creativity can be seen here.

Spore will take these creatures and everyone else's and keep them in an online environment where they can interact and evolve! It is not out yet and he is anxiously awaiting (he has already reserved and paid for his copy). I found this cool gadget here:

Get this widget!

Leadership Day 2008

Scott McLeod at Dangerously Irrelevant has a call out to all bloggers to write about leadership on this day.

As I think about last year, I was given a lot of leeway in tools that I used or projects that I created. However, policy can change quickly. If I could tell administrators in my district a few things as they are making decisions...

1. Not only attend conferences, but sit in on the cutting edge sessions or the sessions that really make you pause and think. Not the ones that talk about using tools - we can really figure out how to do them on our own. We really need to know where we are headed.
   
2. While we are talking conferences, make Educon the one you must go to. Not only will you hear from great people, but Science Leadership Academy is one great place to learn.
   
3. Create a sharing environment at school. Flex days that promote sharing in and between departments that focus on a change in pedagogy and tech tools that allow that to happen easier.
4. Remember it is not the tools, it is the shift in pedagogy. Don't worry about what class or what grade is using a certain tool. We have a capability for so much more.
   
5. Continue the support of teachers but especially to teachers who are risk-takers. My district is great about support. They have diffused many a situation. With rapid changes though, I can see how that can be challenging.
6. Understand that there are many experts (and quite a few at all levels) and we need to rely on all of them. We can't know everything ourselves.
7. Ask questions before you hire - not about what technology you have used, but what inspiring, innovative things have you done?
8. I was able to get students to buy into what we did in class by making them a part of the conversation. We need more conversations and coming together for some goals that can truly transform the education we provide.
9. We are not going to please everyone. If you have a vision, goals, and good design, most will see what you are trying to accomplish.
10. It is tough to see all the changes happening from our small corner of the world. We need to be progressive.
    

Tags: leadershipday2008, schooltechleadership, leadership, student, educational, technology, ed-tech, scott+mcleod

Looking towards setting goals...

A post at TechLearning here, discusses prefessional learning and asks all teachers to think about goals and practices.
They write:

Here's some questions teachers might want to think about:

• What can I do to improve my teaching practice?
• How can I find the gaps in my teaching that is affecting student achievement?
• How do my goals align to my school or district goals?
• How do I know which goals are crucial for my own professional growth and also meet the needs of my students?
• How do I find time to meet my goals during the school day?
• How can I add time to meet some of my goals after-school without taking over my personal life?

Great questions. Those of though who have been blogging already do much of this. It becomes pervasive and a constant thirst and strive for learning. But that is not enough. And just using technology tools is not enough.

I have been following Science Leadership Academy and their use of Understanding by Design (UbD) to develop curriculum. This will allow me to really look at where I have fallen short and create some goals for the next year (which we are asked to do as a faculty).

Technology and Global Awareness

Kristin at the Connected Classroom hosted a cover-it live session from NECC (you can see it here). A must see. In one of the projects my students worked on last year, our biggest obstacle was the ability to see another point of view. Not only are we UScentric, but in our very little town, it is more than that. They really cannot fathom viewpoints outside the homogeneous arena we inhabit.

Pedagogy, not tools

I have not blogged in some time - what have I been doing?

Now that I am wading through the NECC posts, the ones that catch my attention more are those that are focusing on curriculum and design.

Ewan's post about Chris Lehmann and Marcie is the perfect summary of what I have been mulling over and working with. Last year, I "did project based learning". Actually, what it was was a few projects and at the end I was pleased but it still was not the best. There is a better way to do this and I have already started to take these steps with another teacher in my department. We are focusing on overarching goals but I still need to look at backwards design and UbD.

Here are a few summaries from Ewan's post:

But tools don't teach
We need strong pedagogical frameworks to see the whole learning experience, onto which we can slot the right tool for the right job. It's categorically the wrong approach to come up with an idea for a "blog project", "a podcasting project", "a social networking project", in the same way as it's wrong to approach pedagogy from a starting point of "what pedagogical proof is there that social networking improves attainment". You start with the pedagogy and use an appropriate tool to fit the pedagogical bill.

In Chris' school, every member of staff and every bone of curriculum is hung on Understanding By Design, with all the teachers using and all the students understanding the same metalanguage of the oeuvre. By doing this, students are able to reverse engineer the work they have done within the pedagogical framework the teachers have used, in the same way as assessment for learning strategies aim to promote. They are able to learn about learning.

Planning
So, planning is undertaken along these five structures:

Desired results: where do you want to go
Learning objectives
Understandings: the big ideas - why are we teaching or learning this?
Essential Questions: The throughline - what do we keep coming back to throughout the inquiry?
Skills and Content: What is the stuff that we have to know to get to those big ideas?

Assessment
If, after a period of learning, you assess by giving out a test, you are not doing project-based learning. Tests and quizzes are but a dipstick, a quick snapshot of where everyone is at. The projects themselves, the projects that are the creation of the students themselves, are the main assessment tool. They are constant, they are ongoing.

I am blessed that one of my colleagues is attempting this with me. This is a different way of thinking and sure we will get the hang of it. I have quite the reading list this summer including the book Understanding by Design.